Madonna tearfully honors Pulse nightclub shooting victims during Miami concert: 'This s--- is not supposed to happen'

“Don’t forget about it.”

Madonna became visibly emotional as she paid tribute to the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting during her Miami concert on Tuesday.

The pop superstar, who embarked on her Celebration tour last year, spoke passionately about the tragedy that killed 49 people and left 53 injured in front of a sold-out crowd at the Kaseya Center that included survivors, their families, and the loved ones of those who died in the mass shooting at the Orlando gay nightclub seven years ago.

"I want to draw attention to that moment because nightclubs and music and dance are what bring us together. They shouldn’t be places or things that we do that bring us sadness and tragedy and murder and death and pain and suffering and trauma,” Madonna said in footage from the event obtained by local outlet WKMG News 6. “But, unfortunately, human beings are still stuck in some kind of a rut.”

Madonna performs during The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 15, 2023 in London, England
Madonna.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage 

The Material Girl said that she would “always stand for the gays” because “the gays have always stood for me” and described the shooting as "the biggest terrorist attack after 9/11." She then became choked up as she revealed that she’d invited some of the survivors of the tragic event to the concert that evening.

"I make dance music. My job is to bring people together, to make people dance, to make people happy, to not judge,” she said. “This s--- is not supposed to happen. Don’t forget about it.”

Madonna went on to spotlight a collection of survivors and share how the shooting has personally affected their lives, noting that they'd lost friends, sustained gunshot wounds, and suffered from mental health struggles.

"When are we gonna learn? That's a rhetorical question, but I'm telling you, we all take part in this — you know why? Because we all judge each other," she said. "We think we’re so elevated. We think we’ve seen it all. We've done it all, but even I speak evil tongue about people. Even I judge."

The “Vogue” singer began to cry as she repeatedly asked the crowd to turn on their phone’s flashlight and raise it into the air. 

"Light up this room, so we are all reminded that their lives were not taken in vain,” she said. “And that we are reminded that every one of us has the ability to shine our own light on each other and share it with the world, share it with our friends, share it with our families, share it with our loved ones, share it with the people we don’t understand, share it with the people we think are our enemies because at the end of the day, we don’t have any f---ing enemies!”

“We are our own enemies. Please remember that,” Madonna concluded, before she began to play an acoustic rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 single, “I Will Survive.”

As part of her Celebration tour, Madonna honors several stars that have been lost in a series of photo montages each night. That includes during her moving performance of “Live to Tell,” which pays tribute to those who have died from AIDS and features portraits of Freddie Mercury, Herb Ritts, Keith Haring, and more. 

Watch Madonna's speech above.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

Related Articles